The total number of houses and apartments that started construction in Australia in the second quarter of 2009 fell 3.7% from the first quarter to a seasonally adjusted 30,411.
Economists according to a poll had forecast growth of 1.0% in the second quarter from the first.The Bureau of Statistics also reported that the number of private-sector houses started in the second quarter rose 3.7% from the previous quarter to 22,347.
The trend estimate for the total number of housing starts, which further smoothes the seasonally adjusted numbers, fell 4.1% from the first quarter to 30,066.